Dishonored writer: “I hate what Valve does with the silent protagonist”
Yuliya Geikhman October 9, 2012 - 11:49 pmNews: Dishonored’s Corvo and Half Life’s Gordon Freeman might both be silent protagonists, but that’s where the similarities end, says Dishonored writer Austin Grossman.
The recently released Dishonored (which we loved) has a silent protagonist, so naturally comparisons are being made to the other infamous wordless hero, Gordon Freeman of Half Life. But the only kind of inspiration Dishonored writer Austin Grossman drew from Freeman is what not to do. Grossman assures Kotaku that he speaks only for himself when he says “I hate what Valve does with the silent protagonist.”
“I find it incredibly awkward and really creepy,” says Grossman. “I find Gordon Freeman creepy as hell.” The creepiness is a result of Freeman’s less personal interests in the game. “I think you get that involvement because the character has personal relationships with people from the beginning. And it’s very clear that people have fucked with you in a very personal way.”
Grossman feels that Freeman is almost like a vessel: “It’s people talking at him, about him and sometimes even for him. He just happens to be in the middle of this whole thing.” Grossman admits that he’s biased, but he thinks that “Dishonored grips you much more viscerally, more emotionally.”
So really Corvo and Freeman are two silent guys driven by different things and interacting with their worlds differently. It’s always the quiet ones, isn’t it.
Comments (1)
I haven’t played Dishonored yet, so I don’t know how Corvo is treated, but Gordon Freeman seems to be dragged along at some points, pushed along at others. I don’t mind that he’s silent; it can work well in certain games. I think the problem with Half-Life (more specifically Half-Life 2 and Episodes 1 & 2, considering limitations that HL1 and many of its peers had) is that Gordon seems detached from the whole experience, contrary to Valve’s efforts towards immersion.
Valve never took the action away from Gordon’s point of view until the start of Episode 2 and only took control away a few times (and when they did, they had a reason for it). Freeman is like a disembodied entity that others speak to or for, giving little freedom to the player. You can’t even see yourself, which is a misguided design decision by Valve to allow players to envision themselves as Gordon. I could probably live with this if it weren’t for the fact that there’s little indication that I’m even there, save for whatever weapon I’m wielding and a hand.
The Source engine can handle reflections, but characters can’t be seen. If Valve wanted to stick to the player’s immersion, even a blurred version of Gordon would work (an Episode of Stargate: SG1 dealing with false memories gave me this idea) for when you walked past anything reflective. It would help sell the idea that I’m there. Or let me smack Dr. Magnusson in the face with the crowbar (I try every time I meet him). Sure, he’s vital to the story, but if I do something to him, let Gordon’s service be terminated with some Vortal wisdom and reload the most recent save; I promise I won’t crush Magnusson’s skull too many times before moving on with the game again.
With the intro to Episode 2, Valve broke the “never leave Gordon’s point of view” mantra that they were pushing (I see Episode 1′s opening as Gordon possibly reflecting on the things he had just done and what Breen had been saying before going back into stasis). Valve doesn’t need to add CG cutscenes or anything, but since they broke their own rule, that could open them up to more storytelling options that don’t need to leave the first person experience.
Despite the flaws in storytelling as far as Gordon goes, I still look forward to returning to his HEV suit. If Valve ever finishes Episode 3 or simply gives up on that idea and moves straight to HL3.
And I suppose I should get Dishonored. It caught my attention when I first saw it, but there are so many other games to play, new, recent and old. I need more time in the day. Or a job that doesn’t keep me here late (some of that’s my own doing, but that’s not the point).